Web development
The internet is a collection of computers around the world connected to each
other via a high-speed series of networks. The World Wide Web consist of a
vast assortment of files and documents that are stored on these computers
written in some form of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) that tell
browser’s how to display the information. The computers that store the files
are called servers because they can serve requests from many users at almost
the same time. Users access these HTML file and documents via application
called Browsers.
The language of the WEB
HTML or HyperText Markup Language, is the authoring language that describe
how a web page should be displayed by a web browser. It has two essential
features: hypertext and universality. Hypertext means when a visitor clicks a
link on the web page, the visitor is led to another web page or document.
Univbersality means that because HTML documents are saved as text files,
virtually any computer can read a web page.
A web browser is a program that displays web pages and other documents on
the web.
What is HTML?
• HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
• HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages
• HTML describes the structure of a Web page
• HTML consists of a series of elements
• HTML elements tell the browser how to display the content
• HTML elements label pieces of content such as "this is a heading", "this is a
paragraph", "this is a link", etc.
A Simple HTML Document
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Example Explained
• The <!DOCTYPE html> declaration defines that this document is an HTML5 document
• The <html> element is the root element of an HTML page
• The <head> element contains meta information about the HTML page
• The <title> element specifies a title for the HTML page (which is shown in the
browser's title bar or in the page's tab)
• The <body> element defines the document's body, and is a container for all the visible
contents, such as headings, paragraphs, images, hyperlinks, tables, lists, etc.
• The <h1> element defines a large heading
• The <p> element defines a paragraph
What is an HTML Element?
An HTML element is defined by a start tag, some content, and an end tag:
<tagname> Content goes here... </tagname>
The HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag:
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
Start tag Element content End tag
<h1> My First Heading </h1>
<p> My first paragraph. </p>
<br> none none
Note: Some HTML elements have no content (like the <br> element). These elements are called
empty elements. Empty elements do not have an end tag!
Web Browsers
The purpose of a web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) is to read HTML documents and
display them correctly.
A browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses them to determine how to display the
document:
HTML Page Structure
Below is a visualization of an HTML page structure:
Note: The content inside the <body> section (the white area above) will be
displayed in a browser. The content inside the <title> element will be shown in the
browser's title bar or in the page's tab.
HTML Editors
A simple text editor is all you need to learn HTML.
Learn HTML Using Notepad or TextEdit
Web pages can be created and modified by using professional HTML editors.
However, for learning HTML we recommend a simple text editor like Notepad
(PC) or TextEdit (Mac).
We believe that using a simple text editor is a good way to learn HTML.
Follow the steps below to create your first web page with Notepad or
TextEdit.
Step 1: Open Notepad (PC)
Windows 8 or later:
Open the Start Screen (the window symbol at the bottom left on your
screen). Type Notepad.
Windows 7 or earlier:
Open Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad
Step 1: Open TextEdit (Mac)
Open Finder > Applications > TextEdit
Also change some preferences to get the application to save files correctly.
In Preferences > Format > choose "Plain Text"
Then under "Open and Save", check the box that says "Display HTML files as
HTML code instead of formatted text".
Then open a new document to place the code.
Step 2: Write Some HTML
Write or copy the following HTML code into Notepad:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Step 3: Save the HTML Page
Save the file on your computer. Select File > Save as in the Notepad menu.
Name the file "index.htm" and set the encoding to UTF-8 (which is the
preferred encoding for HTML files).
Tip: You can use either .htm or .html as file extension. There is no
difference; it is up to you.
Step 4: View the HTML Page in Your Browser
Open the saved HTML file in your favorite browser (double click on the file,
or right-click - and choose "Open with").
The result will look much like this:
With our free online editor, you can edit the HTML code and view the result
in your browser.
It is the perfect tool when you want to test code fast. It also has color
coding and the ability to save and share code with others:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a Heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html
HTML Basic Examples
HTML Documents
All HTML documents must start with a document type declaration: <!DOCTYPE
html>.
The HTML document itself begins with <html> and ends with </html>.
The visible part of the HTML document is between <body> and </body>.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Headings
HTML headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.
<h1>defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important
heading:
Example
<h1>This is heading 1</h1>
<h2>This is heading 2</h2>
<h3>This is heading 3</h3>
HTML Paragraphs
HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag:
Example
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
HTML Links
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag:
Example
<a href="https://www.facebook.com">This is a link</a>
The link's destination is specified in the href attribute.
Attributes are used to provide additional information about HTML elements.
You will learn more about attributes in a later chapter.
HTML Images
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.
The source file (src), alternative text (alt), width, and height are provided as
attributes:
Example
<img src="w3schools.jpg" alt="W3Schools.com" width="104" height="142">
HTML Buttons
HTML buttons are defined with the <button> tag:
Example
<button>Click me</button>
HTML Lists
HTML lists are defined with the <ul> (unordered/bullet list) or the <ol>
(ordered/numbered list) tag, followed by <li> tags (list items):
Example
<ul>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Coffee</li>
<li>Tea</li>
<li>Milk</li>
</ol>
HTML Elements
HTML Elements
An HTML element usually consists of a start tag and an end tag, with the
content inserted in between:
<tagname>Content goes here...</tagname>
The HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag:
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
Start tag Element content End tag
<h1> My First Heading </h1>
<p> My first paragraph. </p>
<br>
HTML elements with no content are called empty elements. Empty elements
do not have an end tag, such as the <br> element (which indicates a line
break).
Nested HTML Elements
HTML elements can be nested (elements can contain elements).
All HTML documents consist of nested HTML elements.
This example contains four HTML elements:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Example Explained
The <html> element defines the whole document.
It has a start tag <html> and an end tag </html>.
Inside the <html> element is the <body> element.
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
The <body> element defines the document body.
It has a start tag <body> and an end tag </body>.
Inside the <body> element is two other HTML elements: <h1> and < p>.
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
The <h1> element defines a heading.
It has a start tag <h1> and an end tag </h1>.
The element content is: My First Heading.
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
The <p> element defines a paragraph.
It has a start tag <p> and an end tag </p>.
The element content is: My first paragraph.
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
Do Not Forget the End Tag
Some HTML elements will display correctly, even if you forget the end tag:
Example
<html>
<body>
<p>This is a paragraph
<p>This is a paragraph
</body>
</html>
The example above works in all browsers, because the closing tag is
considered optional.
Never rely on this. It might produce unexpected results and/or
errors if you forget the end tag.
Empty HTML Elements
HTML elements with no content are called empty elements.
<br>is an empty element without a closing tag (the <br> tag defines a line
break):
Example
<p>This is a <br> paragraph with a line break.</p>
Empty elements can be "closed" in the opening tag like this: <br />.
HTML5 does not require empty elements to be closed. But if you want
stricter validation, or if you need to make your document readable by XML
parsers, you must close all HTML elements properly.
HTML Is Not Case Sensitive
HTML tags are not case sensitive: <P> means the same as <p>.
The HTML5 standard does not require lowercase tags, but W3C
recommends lowercase in HTML, and demands lowercase for stricter
document types like XHTML.
HTML Attributes
Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.
HTML Attributes
• All HTML elements can have attributes
• Attributes provide additional information about an element
• Attributes are always specified in the start tag
• Attributes usually come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
The href Attribute
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag. The link address is specified in the
href attribute:
Example
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com">This is a link</a>
You will learn more about links and the <a> tag later in this tutorial.
The src Attribute
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.
The filename of the image source is specified in the src attribute:
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg">
The width and height Attributes
HTML images also have width and height attributes, which specifies the width
and height of the image:
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg" width="500" height="600">
The width and height are specified in pixels by default; so width="500"
means 500 pixels wide.
The alt Attribute
The alt attribute specifies an alternative text to be used, if an image cannot
be displayed.
The value of the alt attribute can be read by screen readers. This way,
someone "listening" to the webpage, e.g. a vision impaired person, can
"hear" the element.
Example
<img src="img_girl.jpg" alt="Girl with a jacket">
The alt attribute is also useful if the image cannot be displayed (e.g. if it
does not exist):
Example
See what happens if we try to display an image that does not exist:
<img src="img_typo.jpg" alt="Girl with a jacket">
The style Attribute
The style attribute is used to specify the styling of an element, like color,
font, size etc.
Example
<p style="color:red">This is a paragraph.</p>
The title Attribute
Here, a title attribute is added to the <p> element. The value of the title
attribute will be displayed as a tooltip when you mouse over the paragraph:
Example
<p title="I'm a tooltip">
This is a paragraph.
</p>
Chapter Summary
• All HTML elements can have attributes
• The title attribute provides additional "tool-tip" information
• The href attribute provides address information for links
• The width and height attributes provide size information for images
• The alt attribute provides text for screen readers
• At W3Schools we always use lowercase attribute names
• At W3Schools we always quote attribute values
HTML Attributes
Below is an alphabetical list of some attributes often used in HTML, which
you will learn more about in this tutorial:
Attribute Description
Specifies an alternative text for an image, when the image cannot
alt
be displayed
disabled Specifies that an input element should be disabled
href Specifies the URL (web address) for a link
id Specifies a unique id for an element
src Specifies the URL (web address) for an image
style Specifies an inline CSS style for an element
Specifies extra information about an element (displayed as a tool
title
tip)
HTML Colors
HTML colors are specified using predefined color names, or RGB, HEX, HSL,
RGBA, HSLA values.
Color Names
In HTML, a color can be specified by using a color name:
Tomato, Orange, DodgerBlue, MediumSeaGreen, Gray, SlateBlue, Violet
HTML supports 140 standard color names.
Background Color
You can set the background color for HTML elements:
Hello World
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy
nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis
nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Example
<h1 style="background-color:DodgerBlue;">Hello World</h1>
<p style="background-color:Tomato;">Lorem ipsum...</p>
Text Color
You can set the color of text:
Hello World
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy
nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper
suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Example
<h1 style="color:Tomato;">Hello World</h1>
<p style="color:DodgerBlue;">Lorem ipsum...</p>
<p style="color:MediumSeaGreen;">Ut wisi enim...</p>
Border Color
You can set the color of borders:
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Example
<h1 style="border:2px solid Tomato;">Hello World</h1>
<h1 style="border:2px solid DodgerBlue;">Hello World</h1>
<h1 style="border:2px solid Violet;">Hello World</h1>
Color Values
In HTML, colors can also be specified using RGB values, HEX values, HSL
values, RGBA values, and HSLA values:
Same as color name "Tomato":
rgb(255, 99, 71)
#ff6347100%, 64%, 0.5)
Example
<h1 style="background-color:rgb(255, 99, 71);">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:#ff6347;">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:hsl(9, 100%, 64%);">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:rgba(255, 99, 71, 0.5);">...</h1>
<h1 style="background-color:hsla(9, 100%, 64%, 0.5);">...</h1>
HTML Styles - CSS
Styling HTML with CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets.
CSS describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen,
paper, or in other media.
CSS saves a lot of work. It can control the layout of multiple web pages all
at once.
CSS can be added to HTML elements in 3 ways:
• Inline - by using the style attribute in HTML elements
• Internal - by using a <style> element in the <head> section
• External - by using an external CSS file
The most common way to add CSS, is to keep the styles in separate CSS
files. However, here we will use inline and internal styling, because this is
easier to demonstrate, and easier for you to try it yourself.
Inline CSS
An inline CSS is used to apply a unique style to a single HTML element.
An inline CSS uses the style attribute of an HTML element.
This example sets the text color of the <h1> element to blue:
Example
<h1 style="color:blue;">This is a Blue Heading</h1>
Internal CSS
An internal CSS is used to define a style for a single HTML page.
An internal CSS is defined in the <head> section of an HTML page, within a
<style> element:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {background-color: powderblue;}
h1 {color: blue;}
p {color: red;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
External CSS
An external style sheet is used to define the style for many HTML pages.
With an external style sheet, you can change the look of an entire
web site, by changing one file!
To use an external style sheet, add a link to it in the <head> section of the
HTML page:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
An external style sheet can be written in any text editor. The file must not
contain any HTML code, and must be saved with a .css extension.
Here is how the "styles.css" looks:
body {
background-color: powderblue;
}
h1 {
color: blue;
}
p {
color: red;
}
CSS Fonts
The CSS color property defines the text color to be used.
The CSS font-family property defines the font to be used.
The CSS font-size property defines the text size to be used.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
h1 {
color: blue;
font-family: verdana;
font-size: 300%;
}
p {
color: red;
font-family: courier;
font-size: 160%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
CSS Border
The CSS border property defines a border around an HTML element:
Example
p {
border: 1px solid powderblue;
}
CSS Padding
The CSS padding property defines a padding (space) between the text and the
border:
Example
p {
border: 1px solid powderblue;
padding: 30px;
}
CSS Margin
The CSS margin property defines a margin (space) outside the border:
Example
p {
border: 1px solid powderblue;
margin: 50px;
}
The id Attribute
To define a specific style for one special element, add an id attribute to the
element:
<p id="p01">I am different</p>
then define a style for the element with the specific id:
Example
#p01 {
color: blue;
}
Note: The id of an element should be unique within a page, so the id
selector is used to select one unique element!
The class Attribute
To define a style for special types of elements, add a class attribute to the
element:
<p class="error">I am different</p>
then define a style for the elements with the specific class:
Example
p.error {
color: red;
}
External References
External style sheets can be referenced with a full URL or with a path
relative to the current web page.
This example uses a full URL to link to a style sheet:
Example
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/styles.css">
This example links to a style sheet located in the html folder on the current
web site:
Example
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/html/styles.css">
This example links to a style sheet located in the same folder as the current
page:
Example
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
Chapter Summary
• Use the HTML style attribute for inline styling
• Use the HTML <style> element to define internal CSS
• Use the HTML <link> element to refer to an external CSS file
• Use the HTML <head> element to store <style> and <link> elements
• Use the CSS color property for text colors
• Use the CSS font-family property for text fonts
• Use the CSS font-size property for text sizes
• Use the CSS border property for borders
• Use the CSS padding property for space inside the border
• Use the CSS margin property for space outside the border
HTML Tables
HTML Table Example
Company Contact Country
Alfreds Futterkiste Katati Godfrey Germany
Centro comercial Moctezuma Limpo Musonda Mexico
Ernst Handel Rabson Banda Austria
Island Trading Pearl Muthali UK
Laughing Bacchus Winecellars Lakeysha Mfula Canada
Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti Grace Nyirenda Italy
Defining an HTML Table
An HTML table is defined with the <table> tag.
Each table row is defined with the <tr> tag. A table header is defined with the
<th> tag. By default, table headings are bold and centered. A table data/cell
is defined with the <td> tag.
Example
<table style="width:100%">
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>Age</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Brenda</td>
<td>Kaluba </td>
<td>50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Philip</td>
<td>Moyo</td>
<td>23</td>
</tr>
</table>
Note: The <td> elements are the data containers of the table.
They can contain all sorts of HTML elements; text, images, lists, other
tables, etc.
HTML Table - Adding a Border
If you do not specify a border for the table, it will be displayed without
borders.
A border is set using the CSS border property:
Example
table, th, td {
border: 1px solid black;
}
Remember to define borders for both the table and the table cells.
HTML Table - Collapsed Borders
If you want the borders to collapse into one border, add the CSS border-
collapse property:
Example
table, th, td {
border: 1px solid black;
border-collapse: collapse;
}
HTML Table - Adding Cell Padding
Cell padding specifies the space between the cell content and its borders.
If you do not specify a padding, the table cells will be displayed without
padding.
To set the padding, use the CSS padding property:
Example
th, td {
padding: 15px;
}
HTML Table - Left-align Headings
By default, table headings are bold and centered.
To left-align the table headings, use the CSS text-align property:
Example
th {
text-align: left;
}
HTML Table - Adding Border Spacing
Border spacing specifies the space between the cells.
To set the border spacing for a table, use the CSS border-spacing property:
Example
table {
border-spacing: 5px;
}
Note: If the table has collapsed borders, border-spacing has no effect.
HTML Table - Cells that Span Many Columns
To make a cell span more than one column, use the colspan attribute:
Example
<table style="width:100%">
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th colspan="2">Telephone</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Temwani Banda</td>
<td>55577854</td>
<td>55577855</td>
</tr>
</table>
HTML Table - Cells that Span Many Rows
To make a cell span more than one row, use the rowspan attribute:
Example
<table style="width:100%">
<tr>
<th>Name:</th>
<td>Sibanda Victor</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Telephone:</th>
<td>55577854</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>55577855</td>
</tr>
</table>
HTML Table - Adding a Caption
To add a caption to a table, use the <caption> tag:
Example
<table style="width:100%">
<caption>Monthly savings</caption>
<tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Savings</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>K100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>K50</td>
</tr>
</table>
Note: The <caption> tag must be inserted immediately after the <table> tag.
A Special Style for One Table
To define a special style for a special table, add an id attribute to the table:
Example
<table id="t01">
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>Age</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Mary</td>
<td>Matoka</td>
<td>30</td>
</tr>
</table>
Now you can define a special style for this table:
table#t01 {
width: 100%;
background-color: #f1f1c1;
}
And add more styles:
table#t01 tr:nth-child(even) {
background-color: #eee;
}
table#t01 tr:nth-child(odd) {
background-color: #fff;
}
table#t01 th {
color: white;
background-color: black;
}
Chapter Summary
• Use the HTML <table> element to define a table
• Use the HTML <tr> element to define a table row
• Use the HTML <td> element to define a table data
• Use the HTML <th> element to define a table heading
• Use the HTML <caption> element to define a table caption
• Use the CSS border property to define a border
• Use the CSS border-collapse property to collapse cell borders
• Use the CSS padding property to add padding to cells
• Use the CSS text-align property to align cell text
• Use the CSS border-spacing property to set the spacing between cells
• Use the colspan attribute to make a cell span many columns
• Use the rowspan attribute to make a cell span many rows
• Use the id attribute to uniquely define one table
Task:
In group of 5 create a Student Management System.
You are required to use the concept we have learnt
in this topic as well as other resources like
www.w3school.com
Due date: 31st March, 2023.
